Ferriday Mayor Sherrie Jacobs McMahon said today that she met individually with Ferriday alderman last week to discuss the town's financial situation as well as other pressing issues.

At its August meeting, the Ferriday Board of Aldermen set plans to amend its budget after Alderwoman Cheryl Smith-Lee informed the board that it has $48,000 in reserve for the rest of the year, while the town will be paying $98,000 per month in payroll, including social security, retirement, workman's compensation, payroll tax, etc.

McMahon said part of the financial problems came about when a corporate endeavor with Jefferson Parish Police Jury fell through. That endeavor concerned the town’s new community center.

Former Mayor Gene Allen had previously talked with Jefferson Parish officials about the agreement. Jefferson Parish was to put up $300,000 to help the town pay its share of the matching grant to build the center, which was completed this year. The endeavor would allow Jefferson Parish to send a certain number of residents to Ferriday in the event of an evacuation such as a hurricane.

But the deal was never made.

McMahon also pointed out that buildings the town owns are expensive to operate

"The gym costs $3,275 per month,” she said. “Haney’s Big House costs $ 1,500 per month and the Community Center costs $2,000 per month (and that is without the gas kitchen equipment being installed). The center’s cost could double."

McMahon said garbage around town had not been picked up because of the aging boom truck that has been repaired several times.

"We took it to the shop and thought it was fixed," McMahon said. "It had to go back to the shop again. Once that problem was fixed, the hydraulic arm on the truck would go out, but not back. So, again it went to the shop for repairs.

“We began cleaning up the Town when the catalytic converter went out. It could not be repaired, so we are waiting for the part to arrive. During this time, we had to stop picking up trash because I had to investigate allegations of illegal dumping made by a board member. I called to be sure what we had permission to take to our dump site, and we are following our directive."

McMahon also wanted citizens to know that the Florida Street gym is not being sold.

"The town does not own the gym," she said. "A meeting was held with board members to suggest amending/terminating the lease agreement with the school board which would be a financial benefit to the town. However, this information was leaked before any renewal negotiation could take place.

“Every time I think we are moving forward, I have to stop working on important projects in order to address these manufactured issues such as these. I know that if we work together we can solve any problem that exists in Ferriday. I thank you for your continued support and look forward to working with you to see Ferriday thrive."